Falling Apart

Posted on Wed Jul 22nd, 2026 @ 9:20pm by Lieutenant Commander Aaron Marcus & Lieutenant Endymion Tox

1,831 words; about a 9 minute read

ON:

Nurses, they are some of the strongest members of Starfleet. They have seen things, injuries, illnesses, that would crumple people in an instant. They grit their teeth and work to save lives and they set their emotions aside. Nobody was better at this then Tox.

Until this very day.

It had started as any other shift did, with jokes and laughs with the other nurses, a sense of lightness that turned into something dark for no reason.

One moment Tox was smiling and laughing and the next, the next he felt his heart speed up, his blood seemed to rush to his ears and he momentarily lost his breath.

He wondered why it was as if his body was telling something was wrong before the call came in. A call from the shuttle bay. They were upgrading one of the shuttles and someone had called sickbay. It hadn’t been Tox to take the call but Doctor Marcus while Tox listened on and as the reason for the call came into light a jolt rushed through Tox's entire body. His calm and good humor gone in an instant, his hands developing a slight shake.

"Ensign Roger's to Doctor Marcus."

Aaron had his book, his pills and a drink. He was calm and all was right with the world that is until the comm channel went off. Aaron sighed and tossed a pill into his mouth. "Go ahead Ensign."

"We have a problem here. Lieutenant Xavier collapsed. His lips are turning blue and he's gasping for air...we took his jacket off cause he kept saying how hot it was...he...has a rash all over. We need help right away."

Aaron rose to his feet and tossed the book on Bendii Syndrome that he has tried to read hundreds of times and has yet to open on his desk. He grabbed his cane and walked out into Sick Bay proper as he tapped his comm badge. "Do not touch him at all. We do not know the cause of whatever this is. Stand by."

Tox was already moving. "W....ww..we can transport him." He said to the doctor as he worked the controls. "Med Transport ready." He waited for Marcus to call it and all the while his hands shook. He was not the steady nurse he once was. All he could think of was that they were just getting started, they had just talked and he might not have Xavier with him. He was on the verge of Falling Apart and he knew he had to get himself together. At least for now, at least to help.

"Transport him directly into the stasis field. We can stabilize his vitals from there. Once that is done either shut your emotions down and work or get the hell out of my Sick Bay. Energize Now!" Aaron leaned on his cane as and stared at the stasis bay unyielding. There was a smile on his face. It seemed that he may actually be happy. As Xavier materialized, Aaron spoke softly to himself. "Third unknown case in as many days. Damn I actually like it here."

Tox did as he was told and because the Doctor was right he numbed himself saying, He's just any other patient. He's not your Pluto. He's just a patient. It didn't work but he still managed calm. He would fall apart later. Right now he needed to be here both for the Doctor and Xavier. "I'm ready to work Doctor Marcus." From anyone else this statement was gold from Tox his....submission and professionalism was a sign that he was not okay.

Xavier materialized in the stasis field. "Computer full bio analysis. Administer propheline 3 ccs." Aaron stepped forward and tossed his cane to the side. The cane landed on a hook with precision. He placed a neurotransmitter on Xavier's head. "Tox what does the report say happened?" He could see red blotches forming on Xavier's cheeks and neck. "Glove up we are going to have to strip him."

Tox turned bright red. "The report said he couldn't breath and he started getting those." He pointed to the blotches. He then grabbed gloves and other protective equipment for him and the Doc. As the Doc got ready Tox gently ran his hand through Xavier's hair. "It's going to be okay. Doc Marcus is here."

"Damn right its going to be okay. If I can't cure you, you are already dead." Aaron said as he used his hands to examine the rashes closer. They looked like a standard histamine response, this combined with the breathing issue could mean allergy. "Computer. Does Lieutenant Xavier have any known allergies?" He took a look at the stasis field's telemetry. The computer had taken over Xavier's breathing functions and he visibly began to breathe easier. "Alright I bought us some time. The computer will keep him alive and the meds will keep the lungs open. But we need to get some answers quick."

=/\=No known allergies on file,=/\= the computer's monotone voice droned on.

Tox spoke up. "Hey Doc, I've seen this rash on another crew member."

"On who and where on their body?" Aaron said and seemingly out of nowhere he produced a wipe out board. On it he wrote rashes, difficulty breathing, not a histamine response. "Come on I need ideas before whatever the hell this is eats them and us."

"Ensign Monroe, Neck and back. He came in earlier for cream." Tox started to feel panic rise as he watched Xavier. "Also ... the Rash on Amanda....when we looked at her you said she was being digested but what if this is the same thing?"

"Already thought about Thorny and ruled that out. This rash is not the same as what she had. We are going to have to get Monroe back in here. Aaron looked at Xavier's vitals as they fluctuated. The problem with Diagnostic Medicine is that you needed time. Time to follow the path of symptoms and get to the answer. For Xavier, time was not something they had. The man was alive in the present, but the future... "Computer, place Lieutenant Xavier on life support. Power to the life support symptoms supersedes all power transfer requests that do not come from the Captain. He is alive, and stable. For how long depends upon how quick we can get information." Aaron rolled a white board into the room. "Now, what symptoms do we have? Rash, difficulty breathing, fluctuating blood pressure." He pointed toward Tox to allow the nurse to chime in.

Tox studied Xavier a moment. Life support. Images flashed through his mind of a world where Xavier was not there. He shuddered. "Boils...fever..." Tox swallowed as he approached the steri field. "You can't let him die." He said to Marcus. "You can't. I..." He turned eyes glowing with unshed tears. "Please...save him Doctor Marcus. Please. I.." He walked over to the Doctor and grabbed his arm. "I never told him I...Please Doctor Marcus. I'll do anything, just don't let him die." He was slowly unraveling, falling apart and fighting it.

Aaron wrote the other two symptoms on the board and then turned to Tox as he grabbed Aaron's arm. "Xavier isn't fighting me. They're fighting biology. Biology doesn't negotiate. It doesn't care how much you love someone. I can't make many promises. What I can do is keep trying to outsmart it. That's the only promise you're getting. My job isn't to play God. My job is to make God look lazy by finding the diagnosis before it's too late."

Aaron looked toward the man laying in the bio field and then back to Tox. "Look... if there were a button that said 'Don't Let Them Die,' I'd have hit it by now. Medicine isn't magic. It's educated guessing mixed with experience and a ridiculous amount of luck. But if there's one more test to run, one more symptom that doesn't fit, one more clue everyone else missed. I'm going to find it. So stop wasting your energy convincing me to care. I already do." He held his finger to his lips to signal that Tox should keep that last bit to themselves. The people I lose don't stay in Sick Bay. They move into my head and refuse to leave. I don't need another ghost. So trust me when I say this—I don't intend to let them die. Whether I succeed however... isn't entirely up to me."

Aaron allowed his pep talk of sorts to sink in. After a beat he pointed to the whiteboard and his voice returned to all business tone. "Now, what illnesses are out there that have rashes, boils, fluctuating blood pressure, difficulty breathing, and fever. New strain of Hellenic Encephalitis would have these symptoms but there would also be swelling in the brain."

Tox took a moment. He sighed. Get it together now. Fall apart later. "Everything but the boils could be an allergic reaction. The boils...Staph? It could be something attacking the immune system. Xavier doesn't have boils but the human patients do so his half Vulcan half Romulan physiology could be fighting that part of the symptoms." Monroe had boils and all the other symptoms but not the difficulty breathing to Xavier's extent. I think it's safe to assume that it dances with their genetics in some way." He took a shuddering breath. "I really want to hug you now but I can't risk you throwing me out the air lock before Xavier recovers."

"Ah now there you have something. Physiology. It could have something to do with internal body chemistry. Lets order a blood scan for every patient. While we are at it bring up Thorny's blood scans. I want scans for all known cancers as well." Aaron tapped his comm badge. "Lieutenant Espinosa, Staff Warrant Steele, Lieutenant Commander Ra-Gruvloveii, and Lieutenant Commander Chernova all report to Sick Bay. Use site to site transport when ready. Do not move through the ship. All of you are under quarantine orders. Marcus out."

Tox sighed. "After all this is done, Doc, can I raid your office for the hard liquor?"

"When this is over. All those officers are going to us a lot of booze. Now, its magic time we have a puzzle to solve. Computer play Who Are You? by The Who." The song began to play and Aaron starred in thought at Xavier. He smirked, as he thought about the sheer amount of fun that he was going to have.

"Why do I get very afraid when you smile like that?"

"Its not you who should be afraid. It is whatever is inside of Xavier that should be quaking in its cytoplasm." Aaron seemed happy and in his element as he set to the task at hand.
========

Lieutenant Commander Aaron Marcus
Chief Medical Officer
USS Ontario

&

Lieutenant Endymion Tox
Head Nurse (PNPC)
USS Ontario

RSS Feed